Testing week can be stressful for students, teachers, and pretty much the entire school. Though you have prepared all year long, tensions are high and patience is low as teachers struggle to keep students quiet after the test so that they don’t disrupt test takers throughout the school. Then there’s the question of what to do after testing week is over to keep students engaged for the rest of the year. Hopefully these during and after testing activities for middle and high school students will give you some ideas for all your testing needs!
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Fun Worksheets and Activities to do During Testing Week
Fun activities to do during test week is all about finding the balance between letting your students breathe after a test and keeping the test taking mindset on track. It’s about acknowledging their hard work and providing decompressing strategies. And, most challenging of all, it’s about keeping students quiet for even longer than the hour-long tests. Here are some fun after testing ideas:
Quiet Activities for After Testing (During Testing Week)
- Create Blackout or Artout Poetry- Testing month usually coincides with poetry month, so why not combine them both! Blackout or artout poetry is a silent activity that helps students decompress while tapping into their creativity. Get ideas and examples here!
- Read Independently– Did you know that only 6 minutes of reading can help reduce stress by 68%? One of the many reasons to implement independent reading is that it provides an instant lesson plan for disruptive days like state testing! So, put on some quiet ambience and have some silent reading time.
- Choose a Podcast- If your students can access their devices and have headphones, then podcast choice boards are a fantastic quiet activity for after testing! You can find podcast ideas here, or download pre-made choice boards here.
- Try Reverse Coloring– Have you heard of reverse coloring? It’s when the pages have colors but you add the lines! You could rip pages out of a book like this for students to draw on quietly after testing.
- Do Regular Coloring– Coloring isn’t just for kids! According to Web MD, coloring relaxes your brain and improves brain function which is perfect for testing week!
- Figure Out a Puzzle Book– Distribute puzzle book pages or printables containing sudoku, crosswords, word searches, or logic puzzles for students to solve quietly.
- Sketch a Directive Drawing– If you search YouTube for directive drawing, there are a ton of options that you can play silently or on low volume as students follow along to make their own illustration.
- Give Choice and Voice- Students love choices! Why not combine all the after testing ideas above into a choice board and let students pick their favorite quiet activities for after testing.
Fun Activities to do During Testing Week
If your testing schedule is organized in a way that doesn’t require your classroom to be quiet after testing, then here are some ideas for fun activities to do during testing week!
- Listen to a Podcast– Podcasts in the classroom is a passion project of mine, and they can truly make testing season more enjoyable! Picture this: Your students have been testing all day and need a break. You hit play on an educational podcast and let them color, discover, and decompress. If that sounds nice, you’ll enjoy these podcast coloring pages!
- Stream Bob Ross – Is the soothing voice of Bob Ross a core memory of your childhood? Turns out this mesmerizing effect still works on students today! One of my little secrets for disruptive days is to stream a Bob Ross episode and let him work his magic. 🙂
- Guess at GeoGuessr – While Bob Ross is my go-to, GeoGuessr is my husband’s secret tool for keeping middle schoolers entertained after daily testing. It’s a fun geography game which takes you around the world and challenges your ability to recognize your surroundings. According to him, students go wild for this game!
- Watch a Movie– A well-placed movie day can be a godsend. Get movie day ideas here!
- Play a Review Game– Recall, reinforce, and reward. After a taxing testing day, students often wonder if their hard work has paid off. Engaging in review games can keep the knowledge fresh and the competitive spirit alive. Fun review games can gauge their understanding and help them feel less stressed about the material.
- Take Learning Outside– Getting outside during stressful testing days can be such a breath of fresh air (literally). Whether you go outside for a brain break or do some outdoor lesson plans, you’ll add some sunshine to your after testing activities for middle school and high school students!
- Add Movement – If you want or need to continue regular learning during testing days, try to add some movement to your lesson plans. This will help with brain fatigue and post-testing stress.
In allowing students to decompress in these joyful, creative ways, they’re also reinforcing a sense of accomplishment. They’re saying, “I worked hard, I played well, and now I understand.” This attitude will be invaluable as they progress through their academic careers and beyond.
After Testing Activities for the Rest of the School Year
Once testing week is complete, then let the countdown to summer break begin! The home stretch of the school year can feel like a marathon, but who says it can’t be more like a party? This is often a favorite time of year for many teachers because they often have a bit more flexibility and fun with their curriculum. Here are some ideas:
- Listen to a Podcast Series– Podcasts are a fantastic way to end the school year! They are novel (without being a novel) and keep students engaged. If you need some editable templates to turn ANY podcast into a skill-based unit, these ELA worksheets have you covered! Some podcast series ideas for middle and high school students are: The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel (MS), Limetown (8th-10th), Dolly Parton’s America (11th-12th), Serial (12th), and more in this post!
- Produce a Podcast– Listening to podcasts and producing a podcast go hand in hand and make fantastic after testing activities for middle school and high school. During your podcast unit, students can work in groups to produce episodes on various literary topics, such as book reviews, discussions on themes or characters, or interesting research projects.
- Design a Tiny House for a Character– Imagine if a character from your favorite book had a tiny house. What would it look like? Challenge your students to dive deep into their character’s mind and design a tiny house that reflects their personality, hobbies, and lifestyle. This project is a fantastic way for students to engage in character analysis in a creative and personal way. Plus, who doesn’t love dreaming up cozy little spaces?
- Create a Storybook Based on a Novel– Let those artistic talents shine! Students analyze the theme of a novel they’ve read and transform it into a storybook. Encourage them to illustrate or design their books, adding a personal touch that brings the story to life. This activity not only reinforces thematic understanding but also lets students express their learning in an artistic way.
- Write Fun Poetry– Poetry doesn’t have to be boring! Inject some fun into poetry by exploring limericks, haikus, or even creating Instagram-style poetry. Encourage students to play with words and express their thoughts on themes, characters, or personal experiences related to the literature they’ve studied. It’s a great way to demystify poetry and show that it can be as fun as it is profound.
- Host a Novel-in-Verse Lit Circle– Literature circles are great options for after testing activities because they allow students to work independently and show off what they have learned all year (without numbers on a test score)! Novels-in-Verse make end of year lit circles even better because they are fast-paced yet provide ample discussion opportunities. Keep reading here to see how low prep and fun these can be!
- Script a Screenplay– Lights, camera, action! Transform those literary analysis skills into something cinematic by having students adapt a chapter or scene from a novel into a screenplay. They’ll need to consider dialogue, stage directions, and how to visually represent internal thoughts and emotions. It’s a dynamic way to engage with text and think about storytelling in a new dimension. Keep reading here for tips on setting up your own screenplay project!
By weaving these after testing activities into your end-of-year plans, you’re not just filling time—you’re enriching minds, sparking creativity, and making sure those last weeks of school are as unforgettable as they are educational. Let’s make it a finale to remember, full of laughter, learning, and lots of literary love!